FOOD!

On Monday, after classes, we went on a food tour of our neighborhood. Basically, it was just a very knowledgeable Italian woman walking us from shop to shop where we were given obscene amounts of delicious food and drink. I was basically something from a dream. While others were starting to feel it around hour 2 my friends and I preservereed until the very last taste. My roommate said it best “I’ve been training for this my whole life.” I wish I had taken more pictures but just know that everything was delicious. We started with cappuccinos and pastries at a café near our campus then moved on to fried rice balls with mozzarella inside (il supli). After that we tried cannolis (which is singularly pronounced “cannolo”), small cakes with fruit, ice cream, and a digestive alcoholic drink (like limonchello but sweeter and milkier). From there we moved to pizza (I’ll never eat Pizza Hut again), and then ended at a very fancy restaurant. The tour guide owned this restaurant, and we will definitely be back (SOON). We tried an appetizer platter, followed by three types of pasta. All of them were amazing and so fresh.

After a week of eating real Italian food I’ve come to a few conclusions

• Maggiano’s is terrible

• The main staple is carbs

• There is no such thing as a bad type of cheese

• Food here is so fresh

While in the states I am gluten free via the advice of my doctor. While in Rome I’ve been bad a have been eating insane amounts of gluten but it’s very bizarre because I feel healthier than I ever have. I think that this can be accounted to the fact that the Italian diet is composed of mainly fresh, wholesome, ingredients. I’m not saying they don’t have some food that is bad for you, but when I go to the grocery I can even find premixed spices. The cooking culture here is very natural and discourages chemicals. While I haven’t yet found any “Old El Paso” taco mix ( L ) frankly I’m loving being able to eat any and every thing I want without feeling guilty, sluggish, or sick!

PS: I found ONE jar of peanut butter in the supermarket. While I had to pay almost 6USD it was worth every cent. Somethings just can’t be made any better.